VOA标准英语2012--New Texas Institute Coordinates Space Medicine Research
时间：2012-04-05 06:57:47
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New Texas Institute Coordinates2 Space Medicine Research
Since the human space flight adventure began more than 50 years ago, scientists have learned a lot about things like the effects of weightlessness on bones and muscles, and the danger of increased radiation exposure in space.
The primary mission of the non-profit National Space Biomedical Research Institute, located at Rice University, is to
coordinate1 and support research projects designed to assist the U.S. space program.
Institute Director is Dr. Jeffrey Sutton said, “What we are basically doing is serving as a hub where the research and development in biomedical research for space that is taking place at a distributed network of institutions then comes to this
entity3 for testing and
evaluation4.”
Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison had a firsthand look at the institute at its official opening in March, trying out a small ultrasound device that researchers say could be used not only for
diagnosis5, but also for treating kidney stones and other
ailments6.
One of the institute's key functions is sponsoring lectures and conferences on
aerospace7 medical research, like this one at the nearby Baylor School of Medicine.
Jennifer Law, an aerospace medicine specialist, says doctors in this field describe it as “normal
physiology8 in an abnormal environment.” “By studying the body in a different environment,
essentially9 we are taking away the constant here of gravity and you are seeing how the different body systems adapt to microgravity," she said.
Law says a lot of research done in space has helped develop treatments for people on earth suffering from such ailments as osteoporosis.
But NASA's longterm goal of sending humans millions of kilometers to Mars, on a roundtrip mission
lasting10 more than a year, raises all sorts of health concerns, especially radiation.
There are also concerns about what psychological and social problems could result from having a crew crowded together in a small vehicle for a long period, soaring through a place where no humans have ever gone before.
“What we are trying to do is push the frontiers of medicine, of space... to move us to the next step... and it is certainly not risk free, at all. It is a very
risky11 enterprise," said Sutton.
But Sutton says humanity's future could depend on the ability to travel safely beyond our native planet.
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